Top-tier Unruly Master-Chapter 1576 - 1613: Could It Be Him?

Although the Lake Master’s reward is not comparable to the opportunity to enter the Xuantian Secret Realm, it is by no means something ordinary. Even if it cannot change a disciple’s entire life, it’s believed it can still help all disciples rapidly enhance their cultivation by several levels.

At this moment, Ding Fan slowly opened his eyes, naturally eager to see how he performed. He thought he had written quite comprehensively. Ding Fan expected his results wouldn’t be too bad, even though the competition rules did not require cultivator disciples to write down the quantities of the Spiritual Materials used.

Ding Fan included the quantities just to challenge himself. After all, as a Grade Nine Alchemist, distinguishing Spiritual Materials by their scents is no challenge for him, especially since they’re quite common materials. Ding Fan didn’t want to waste time on such trivial matters.

So Ding Fan decided to add a level of difficulty for himself by writing down the quantities of the materials used.

However, if Ding Fan knew that the examiner elder couldn’t even remember the quantities of materials he himself used, he would be quite helpless.

"Now, I will announce the list of the top twenty disciples from the first round of the Great Alchemy Competition!"

The elder slowly stood up and said loudly to the assembled disciples.

As the disciples heard the elder’s words, they all focused intently, holding their breath, eyes fixed on the elder, afraid of missing their name being called.

"The twentieth place is Gao Yan, who wrote down six correct Spiritual Materials!"

"Nineteenth place, Wang Shuai! Also wrote down six correct Spiritual Materials!"

"Eighteenth place, Gao Guan! Seven Spiritual Materials!"

"..."

"Third place is, Luv Jingren, who wrote down thirteen Spiritual Materials!"

Wow...

When the elder announced the third place disciple Luv Jingren, there was a gasp of astonishment from everyone. Clearly, this was the first cultivator disciple to write down more than ten correct Spiritual Materials so far, and everyone was shocked. Writing down over ten correct Spiritual Materials was quite an achievement.

Although these disciples are the most outstanding from various sects, excellence in cultivation doesn’t equate to easily becoming an Alchemist. Even for these disciples, becoming an Alchemist is a very challenging task. Their cultivation is already above that of the average young cultivator, so they have more time to study Medicine Pills.

Knowing that someone was able to write down more than ten Spiritual Materials, it’s clear they could already be considered an Alchemist. How could everyone not be shocked? Merely relying on the scent of the materials to write down more than ten correct Spiritual Materials requires a familiarity with Medicine Pills that is beyond that of a typical Alchemist, surely at least a third grade Alchemist.

However, amidst the shocked crowd, only the young man in a golden long robe frowned. This cultivator was Luv Jingren, who was in third place. Luv Jingren himself was shocked by the ranking, not because he ranked high, but because he ranked low; how could he be in third place?

Luv Jingren, with strength at the Nascent Soul Mid Stage, wasn’t particularly outstanding among these top disciples, but he was confident he would earn a spot to enter the Xuantian Secret Realm through this selection competition. He was confident he would rank among the top six in this selection competition.

Therefore, his confidence stemmed from his advantage in the field of Medicine Pills. His master, the head of the Xuantian Sect, happened to be a Seventh Grade Alchemist. Under such guidance, his Alchemy Level was quite decent. Although not reaching the level of a fourth grade Alchemist, he was considered half a step into the threshold of a fourth grade Alchemist.

He originally believed that among all the cultivator disciples, only the extraordinary Lu Ferng could outdo him in alchemy. However, he did not expect to rank third. Who could be in second place? Luv Jingren was filled with questions, unable to think of anyone who could surpass him in alchemy among these disciples!

Luv Jingren naturally had these doubts in his heart and felt no joy from being in third place. His eyes were fixed on the examiner elder, waiting for the elder to announce the name of the second place disciple.

By the examiner elder’s side stood a middle-aged man who, though not the main examiner, was responsible for assisting the Grade Eight Alchemist in conducting the competition. The middle-aged man, seeing the disciples around him getting a bit restless, raised a hand, clenched his fist firmly, motioning for silence.

The disciples immediately quieted down significantly, and the examiner elder continued,

"The second place disciple is Lu Ferng, with fifteen correct Spiritual Materials!"

Wow...

As soon as the elder announced the results for second place, Lu Ferng, the crowd erupted into discussions filled with astonishment, curiosity, and other emotions. No one expected Senior Brother Lu Ferng to be in second place. It seemed unbelievable! Senior Brother Lu Ferng in second place — could there still be a first place? Did the examiner make a mistake?

"Could there be a mistake, Senior Brother Lu Ferng is in second place? Senior Brother Lu Ferng is a bona fide intermediate Alchemist, how could he only be in second place?"

"Exactly, becoming an intermediate Alchemist at our age is extremely rare. On the Donglai Continent, there are hardly any youths who are fourth grade Alchemists, and even in the whole Cultivation World, there aren’t many!"

"Indeed! Even if there are youths who are fourth grade Alchemists, their cultivation definitely isn’t higher than Senior Brother Lu Ferng’s! That’s a certainty!"

"Right, how could Senior Brother Lu Ferng possibly be in second place?"

"Unless that person is here with us!"

"Hmm? Who?"

"Well, there aren’t many young cultivators in the entire Cultivation World who are Grade Four or higher alchemists!"

"There actually is one! Right here on Donglai Continent!"

"..."

At this moment, while all the disciples were shocked, a very ordinary disciple at the Nascent Soul Early Stage suddenly remembered someone. He could not help but speak to everyone with a very certain tone. All the disciples were momentarily stunned, starting to ponder which young man could have an alchemy skill superior to Senior Brother Lu Ferng’s.

Soon, a disciple remembered, but quickly denied it, saying:

"There is indeed someone, but how could that person be here with us? That person is the champion of this Great Alchemy Competition and is said to be a very young cultivator as well."

"It’s true, I’ve heard the champion of this Great Alchemy Competition is indeed a youngster, and he’s reputed to already be a Grade Nine Alchemist at such a young age. But how could he appear here with us?"

"Yeah! So who could be the first in this Medicine Pill Competition? Could it be the examiner elder made a mistake?"

"How could the examiner be wrong? I’m afraid there’s likely a hidden expert among us..."

...

"Could it be him?"

At this moment, a female cultivator, with a gaze full of suspicion, looked at Ding Fan, who was sitting there with a calm expression, and spoke to the group.

The disciples heard the girl’s words, turned their eyes in the direction she pointed, and upon seeing Ding Fan, they all rolled their eyes, mocking in their hearts:

"What a joke, he didn’t write anything on his test, yet dared to hand in a blank sheet. The examiner elder spared him only because of the Lake Master’s face!"

"Yeah, Junior Sister, don’t assume that just because he’s the Lake Master’s elder brother, he must be powerful. Even though the Lake Master isn’t ordinary, he always acts unpredictably. And that guy was just sitting there with his eyes closed the whole time. Don’t even mention being first, it’s a miracle if he’s not last!"

"Haha..."

At this time, a few cultivators couldn’t help but secretly laugh and discuss. Clearly, they didn’t think much of Ding Fan, since while others were nervously answering the test, he was sleeping, leaving the impression that he handed in a blank sheet. Although the disciples looked down on Ding Fan, due to the Lake Master’s status, they naturally didn’t dare to be too blatant.

You should know the Lake Master is not someone to mess with.

Of course, if it weren’t for the Lake Master’s presence, some of the young cultivator disciples who looked down most on Ding Fan would have kicked him out long ago. They certainly wouldn’t let him participate in this selection competition. If he had any true skills, that’s fine, they could have a fair match. But he comes off as a useless participant, lowering the standard of this prestigious selection competition.

After all, not just anyone can enter this competition. Any of these cultivators, even the lowest-ranked one on Donglai Continent, would be an outstanding disciple, unmatched by many.

But since Ding Fan was recommended by the Lake Master, these disciples naturally wouldn’t dare to say much. Their sect master didn’t dare to contradict the Lake Master, so how could they?

As everyone discussed, some were guessing who might truly be the first in this Pill Competition. Others continued to mock Ding Fan, clearly unhappy with his presence. Quite a few of them kept glancing at the blue-robed Lu Ferng, occasionally speculating whether his alchemy skill had dropped or pondering if there was indeed a hidden alchemy expert among them.

As for Lu Ferng, the person in question, his brows were furrowed, surprisingly stunned by his own result. He knew his alchemy level absolutely hadn’t declined, after all, his usual rigorous training wasn’t for nothing. Thus, the only remaining possibility was that there really was a hidden alchemy expert among these cultivator disciples, someone modest about their skills, only showing strength at the crucial moment.

Lu Ferng knew the spots to enter the Xuantian Secret Realm were indeed valuable. For disciples like them, the sect’s finest, these opportunities were immensely cherished. Even their sect masters craved the secret realm but were restricted by age limits, otherwise, it wouldn’t be left to them.

Thus, Lu Ferng speculated it could truly be that the hidden expert couldn’t hold back any longer. But who could it be? 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

At this moment, Lu Ferng glanced at Ding Fan under a spell of odd curiosity, his eyes filled with strange thoughts. He knew Ding Fan was the Lake Master’s elder brother, theoretically, his skills shouldn’t be trivial, yet his behavior was unexpectedly weak.

But Lu Ferng knew Ding Fan’s test paper wasn’t blank because, unnoticed by others, Lu Ferng had accidentally seen him writing continuously while the elder examiner was placing Spiritual Materials and only stopped once the examiner finished.

Therefore, Lu Ferng knew Ding Fan’s submitted test paper definitely wasn’t blank!